Friday, August 22, 2008

Lessons

So, I cancel our Genia Small Group for Thursday night because of stress from personal and work situations. Seems like the right thing to do, take a little time to gather myself together, relax with my family, a little devotional time. Then someone asks me one of those questions you just can’t ignore, the kind of question that sticks in your brain and in your heart and in your soul. The question was “doesn’t it seem to make more sense that we do get together and pray about these things?”

The answer, of course, is yes. I resisted, yet I knew then and know now that the answer to this question should always be yes. And truthfully most of the time we just don’t do it.

Look at my statement above; I needed to take some time for me to gather myself together.

When push comes to shove, spiritually and emotionally, most often I do everything in my power to fix it myself, and when that fails (as it often does), and only when all that fails, do I turn to God.

If the definition of sin is that we miss the mark, that there is truly something wrong with us, then this desire to solve it all myself is an obvious sign of sin.

We are all sinners, and of them I am often the worst. I know now what the Apostle Paul was talking about. And it's not a case of poor self-image; it's a case of understanding what a mess sin has made of everything, including us.

Pray. Pray bodly, pray loudly, shoot up arrow prayers, pray in desperation, pray Scripture, intercede, petition. But pray.

Lesson learned. At least for now.